There is a large population of Iraqis in Iran,
including Iranian citizens of Iraqi
origin or descent, as well as Iraqi citizen expatriates. According
to the 2001 Iran census, there were roughly 203,000 Iraqis living
in Iran;[1]
a UNHCR
report counts 204,000 Iraqis living in Iran.[2]

Contents

Migration
history

Iraqis have always been a thriving community in Iran, with well
established populations in Ahwaz and Elam, but many have fled and settled in other
countries because of events such as the 1979 Islamic Iranian revolution and the Iran–Iraq
War.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs recorded over 202,000 Iraqi refugees in Iran in
September 2003, over half the entire Iraqi refugee population in
the world. About 50,000 of them are housed in 22 refugee camps in
Iran, which are situated along the country's western border with
Iraq, this number is significantly higher than that for Afghan
refugees, of whom only about 2 percent live in camps. The majority
of Iraqi refugees live in urban areas in western Iran. In total,
more than 11,500 Iraqis have returned in convoys facilitated by
UNHCR from Iran, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon since the end of the war
that led to the downfall of Saddam Hussein.

With more than 200,000 Iraqi refugees living in Iran, they are
more than half of all registered Iraqi refugees in the world. At
around 48,000 of the refugees are hosted in Iran's camps, but most
Iraqi refugees live in large urban centres, usually in the western
parts of Iran. The majority of Iraqis have opted for life in Tehran, due to its high standards
of living and greater job availability.[3]
Predominantly settling down in Doulatabad, an almost entirely Iraqi
neighbourhood in the south-eastern corner of Tehran. Another well
known Iraqi neighbourhood in Iran is Marvi Alley, a shopping area
located in the centre of Tehran. This is where the first Iraqi
refugees came in the early '70s, and has remained a centre for all
Iraqis in Tehran, often dubbed it Baghdad Market.[3]

Culture

In ancient civilization, Iran's connection with Mesopotamia dates back
to the Parthian and Sassanian Empires that
strove to emulate the Achaemenid. They placed their capital at
Ctesiphon, twenty miles from present-day Baghdad. Some believe this to have been the
largest city in the world from 570 to 637 A.D.[4]
The Iranian Ambassador to Iraq recently announced that Iran is
committed to working with Iraqi national and provincials
governments on a restoration of the great palace at Ctesiphon.[4]

Religion

The majority of Iraqis present in Iran are ShiaMuslims, as they escaped
persecution from former President of Iraq Saddam Hussein.